The following content is sponsored by Endeavor Energy.
At the same time as it is asking for more U.S. government assistance for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) restructuring plan, the government of Ghana has accrued more than $330 million in arrears to American businesses. It has failed to put forth a payment plan, despite explicit promises to U.S. government officials to do so. This debt is for critical power already delivered to Ghanaian markets on the back of large American investments. It has accumulated over the past nearly three years, while other creditors of Ghana have been accommodated through the IMF program. Much of the funds invested in Ghana by American businesses come from U.S. state pension plans.
It’s time for a U.S. government reckoning with the government of Ghana when it votes Monday on whether to release additional IMF financing for Ghana. The U.S. should also ask its fellow IMF funding countries to back its position, given not only the mistreatment of U.S. interests but also blatant misrepresentation last year to the IMF and World Bank by Ghana. Ghana has committed and represented to the IMF and the World Bank that it would avoid new arrears last year, but a World Bank audit revealed that the government misreported its financial position, running up substantial new arrears while claiming otherwise. This is a clear breach of trust and a red flag that must not be ignored.
These investments are for fully contracted Power Purchase Agreements, backed by U.S. capital, infrastructure, and expertise which helped keep Ghana’s lights on. Among the affected projects, the U.S. government itself is exposed: the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) holds $191 million in project debt and $62.5 million in political risk insurance. American pension funds and institutional investors are on the hook. This is not just a private sector problem—it’s a problem for U.S. taxpayers.
Brian Herlihy, CEO of one major U.S. energy company, Endeavor Energy, whose power projects are owed over $150 million in overdue payments from two major Ghanaian power projects, put it plainly:
“The U.S. government must put the right pressure on Ghana to honor its payments to U.S. companies. We’ve kept power flowing to Ghana for years, even as it broke its promises and let arrears pile up. Indeed, we agreed to accommodations for them in new agreements, which they then failed to sign and live up to. Ghana must pay up.”
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) has urged the U.S. executive director to the IMF to take a stand: no further IMF funds to Ghana until a fair portion is earmarked for paying back U.S. companies. The logic is simple: Why should American investors and taxpayers finance a country that won’t honor its obligations?
To make matters worse, Ghana’s foreign minister is in Washington this week lobbying over proposed visa restrictions, prioritizing diplomatic optics over meaningful action to resolve a growing financial scandal. This posture has reportedly infuriated leaders on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who see Ghana’s neglect of U.S. obligations as both unacceptable and short-sighted.
The IMF Executive Board is meeting July 7 to decide on the next disbursement to Ghana.
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